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Ray Lankford did what Willie Mays, Mickey Mantle couldn’t

Posted in Games, Hitters, Records on September 12, 2011| Leave a Comment »

(Updated May 4, 2018)

In a sport noted for great center fielders, the Cardinals’ Ray Lankford established a production standard for the position that largely hasn’t received the attention it deserves.

In 1992, Lankford became the first center fielder in major-league history to achieve at least 40 doubles, 20 home runs and 30 steals in a season.

Since then, two others have accomplished the feat: Carlos Beltran of the 2002 Royals (44 doubles, 29 homers, 35 steals) and Jacoby Ellsbury of the 2011 Red Sox (46 doubles, 32 homers, 39 steals), according to MLB.com.

Lankford (40 doubles, 20 homers, 42 steals) remains the only National League center fielder to meet the standard.

Four others who came close to achieving those numbers were Willie Mays of the 1959 Giants, Vada Pinson of the 1959 Reds, Andre Dawson of the 1980 Expos and Mike Trout of the 2013 Angels.

Mays (43 doubles, 34 homers, 27 steals) missed by three stolen bases; Pinson (47 doubles, 20 homers, 21 steals) missed by nine stolen bases; Dawson (41 doubles, 17 homers, 34 steals) missed by three home runs; and Trout (39 doubles, 27 homers, 33 steals) missed by one double.

Hall of Fame center fielders such as Ty Cobb, Tris Speaker, Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle and Duke Snider never came close. Same with other top center fielders such as Ken Griffey Jr. (he missed by 12 steals in 1991, the only season he had a chance to match Lankford), Jim Edmonds, Bernie Williams, Kirby Puckett, Andruw Jones, Dale Murphy and Torii Hunter.

Lankford did it in dramatic fashion: his last two hits of 1992 were a double and a home run, putting him exactly at the 40 and 20 totals for those categories.

On Oct. 2, 1992, in the opener of a season-ending three-game series with the Phillies at St. Louis, Lankford hit a two-out, sixth-inning double to right off Curt Schilling. (The Cardinals won, 2-1, even though Schilling pitched a four-hitter). Boxscore

After going 0-for-4 the next day, Lankford went into the season finale on Sunday, Oct. 4, needing a home run to reach 20. He got it in the first inning _ a two-run blast to right-center off Tommy Greene, giving the Cardinals a 2-0 lead in a game they won, 6-3. Boxscore

The home run also enabled Lankford to become the first Cardinals player to achieve 20 homers and 20 steals in a season since Lou Brock in 1967.

Although Lankford struck out a NL-leading 147 times, the 1992 season was a breakthrough for him. Thanks, in large part, to the work of first-year hitting coach Don Baylor, Lankford led the Cardinals in 13 offensive categories. After hitting .251 with nine homers and 69 RBI in 1991, Lankford batted .293 with 20 homers and 86 RBI in 1992.

When Baylor resigned after the 1992 season to become manager of the Rockies, St. Louis general manager Dal Maxvill told The Sporting News, “His importance to the Cardinals was demonstrated by the development of our young hitters last season, especially Lankford.”

After 1992, Lankford hit 20 or more homers five times and topped 30 steals once more, but he never again achieved 40 doubles in a season.

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From Bill White to Isaac Bruce: September specials

Posted in Games on September 10, 2011| Leave a Comment »

From 1960 through 1987, St. Louis had two major-league Cardinals franchises: the baseball Cardinals and the football Cardinals of the NFL.

Here’s a look at how the baseball Cardinals fared on three key St. Louis football dates: the first regular-season game of the St. Louis football Cardinals, the regular-season opener of the final season of the St. Louis football Cardinals, and the first regular-season game of the St. Louis Rams:

SEPTEMBER 23, 1960

On this Friday afternoon, the baseball Cardinals swept a doubleheader against the Cubs before 2,061 at Wrigley Field. That night _ yes, a Friday night _ the St. Louis football Cardinals played their first regular-season game, defeating the Los Angeles Rams, 43-21, in the opener of the 1960 NFL season.

At Chicago, first baseman Bill White drove in four runs, including a three-run home run off Glen Hobbie in the third inning, lifting the Cardinals to a 5-1 victory. Ernie Broglio pitched a five-hitter for St. Louis, improving to 21-7. Boxscore

In the second game, St. Louis won by the same 5-1 score in a game called after seven innings because of darkness. Third baseman Ken Boyer solved Seth Morehead for a solo homer in the second and a two-run triple in the seventh. Ray Sadecki, a 19-year-old rookie, earned his ninth win, limiting Chicago to five hits. Boxscore

At Los Angeles, backup quarterback John Roach, who replaced King Hill at halftime, threw four touchdown passes, rallying the football Cardinals over the Rams. Roach tossed a 52-yard scoring strike to running back John David Crow, and touchdown passes of 57, 37 and 24 yards to end Sonny Randle. “We were a bunch of tigers,” Cardinals coach Pop Ivy told the Associated Press.

SEPTEMBER 13, 1987

On a relentlessly rainy Sunday afternoon, the Mets moved to within 2.5 games of the first-place Cardinals with a 4-2 victory against St. Louis at Shea Stadium. At Busch Stadium, the football Cardinals opened their final season in St. Louis with a 24-13 victory over the Cowboys.

Rookie pitchers David Cone and Randy Myers combined to hold the Cardinals to six singles, a double and one earned run. Five of the eight outs recorded by Myers were on strikeouts. Boxscore

“The day was a funny day,” Cone told the New York Times. “All the delays and sitting around wondering if we were going to play _ when we got to the second delay, I was sure we wouldn’t play. It was nice to be able to relax and watch football games on television. I didn’t have to think about the game.”

At St. Louis, the football Cardinals won their first home opener since 1975 when they rallied from a 13-3 deficit by scoring three touchdowns in the final two minutes, beating the Cowboys, 24-13.

The Cardinals had lost 14 of their last 17 against Dallas and had been outscored by the Cowboys 68-13 in two games in 1986. St. Louis quarterback Neil Lomax connected with receiver Roy Green on touchdown passes of 16 and 22 yards, and Earl Ferrell capped the comeback with a 15-yard touchdown run.

“We just gave it away,” Cowboys coach Tom Landry told the Associated Press.

Said Cardinals coach Gene Stallings, who had been a Cowboys assistant before joining St. Louis: “This was special.”

SEPTEMBER 3, 1995

On the Sunday of Labor Day weekend, the Cardinals and Rams each played a close game, with different results. At Busch Stadium, the Rockies defeated the Cardinals, 5-4, in 11 innings. In their first regular-season game since locating from Los Angeles to St. Louis, the Rams beat the Packers, 17-14, at Green Bay.

At St. Louis, the Rockies scored four in the first and the Cardinals scored four in the fourth. The score stayed 4-4 until the 11th when backup catcher Joe Girardi hit a two-out single on a 0-2 pitch from Jeff Parrett, scoring Andres Galarraga from second and carrying Colorado to a 5-4 victory. Boxscore

In Green Bay, the Rams’ defense, led by defensive end Sean Gilbert, sacked Brett Favre four times and intercepted the Packers quarterback three times in St. Louis’ 17-14 victory.

“Brett’s a great quarterback,” Rams tackle D’Marco Farr told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “I don’t know if you can battle a guy like that. We just had to keep people in his face, keep him occupied.”

Said first-year Rams coach Rich Brooks: “It was a gutsy win. We didn’t paint a Rembrandt, but we got an NFL win on the road.”

In his first NFL start, Rams wide receiver Isaac Bruce blocked a punt and caught a touchdown pass from Chris Miller. “It’s a lot harder to block a punt than it is to catch a touchdown pass,” Bruce told the Associated Press.

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Mariano Rivera vs. Cardinals: 3 games, 3 saves

Posted in Games, Opponents, Pitchers on September 6, 2011| Leave a Comment »

(Updated Jan. 22, 2019)

Three saves against the Cardinals are among the career total for the Yankees’ Mariano Rivera, major league baseball’s all-time leader at 652. On Jan. 22, 2019, Rivera became the first player unanimously elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame by the Baseball Writers Association of America.

In his only three regular-season appearances against the Cardinals, Rivera was at the height of his dominance. He faced 10 batters over 3.1 total innings and only one reached base. Rivera earned saves in all three appearances.

_ Yankees 5, Cardinals 2, June 13, 2003, at New York: It was a postseason-like atmosphere before a Friday night crowd of 55,214 at Yankee Stadium as Rivera entered in the ninth, looking to save the 300th career win for Roger Clemens.

Rivera struck out Orlando Palmeiro and retired Kerry Robinson and Miguel Cairo on groundouts. Boxscore

“I was really happy to go out there and save that game for Clemens,” Rivera told MLB.com. “I wanted to be a part of that … It was a huge game for Roger and for us.”

_ Yankees 5, Cardinals 2, June 15, 2003, at New York: Rivera threw three pitches in the ninth inning to earn the save and give the Yankees a three-game sweep on a Sunday afternoon before 54,797 at Yankee Stadium.

Rivera hit Albert Pujols with a pitch to open the ninth. Ex-Yankee Tino Martinez grounded into a double play and Jim Edmonds, batting for Wilson Delgado, grounded out to second. Boxscore

_ Yankees 5, Cardinals 0, June 11, 2005, at St. Louis: With New York leading 4-0 in the eighth, St. Louis had runners on second and third with two outs when Rivera relieved Tom Gordon. After Larry Walker worked the count to 3-and-2, Rivera delivered a 94 mph fastball on the outside corner. Walker took the called third strike, ending the Cardinals’ threat.

In the ninth, Pujols popped out to first, and Rivera struck out Reggie Sanders and Mark Grudzielanek, preserving the win for Randy Johnson before 50,177 on a Saturday afternoon at Busch Stadium. Boxscore

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Cardinals pitchers enjoy grand slam streak

Posted in Games, Hitters, Pitchers on September 4, 2011| Leave a Comment »

From Curt Davis in 1938 to Jake Westbrook in 2011, 10 Cardinals pitchers have hit grand slam home runs.

Bob Gibson is the only one to do it twice. Gibson and Rick Wise are the only Cardinals pitchers to hit grand slams in the same season.

With grand slams from Chris Carpenter in 2009, Brad Penny in 2010 and Westbrook in 2011, the Cardinals are the only team in major-league history to have a pitcher slug a four-run homer in three consecutive seasons, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

Here are the Cardinals pitchers who hit grand slams:

_ Curt Davis: A right-hander who earned 158 wins and hit 11 home runs in a 13-year big-league career, Davis slugged a fourth-inning grand slam off Al Hollingsworth, helping St. Louis to a 5-0 lead on April 26, 1938, at Cincinnati. Playing before a Tuesday afternoon gathering of 2,386, the Reds rallied for an 8-7 victory. Boxscore

_ Bob Gibson: Twenty-seven years after Davis’ blast, Gibson connected for a grand slam off Gaylord Perry on Sept. 29, 1965, at San Francisco. With Cardinals runners on second and third, one out, in the eighth, Perry relieved Bob Shaw. Perry issued an intentional walk to Bob Skinner, loading the bases for Gibson, who gave St. Louis an 8-0 lead with his fifth homer of the season. The Cardinals held on for an 8-6 victory. Boxscore

“I knew it was going to the fence,” Gibson told the Associated Press, “but I didn’t think it was going over.”

_ Bob Gibson: In the first game of a doubleheader on July 26, 1973, at St. Louis, Gibson earned a complete-game win and smashed a fifth-inning grand slam off Mets reliever John Strohmayer in the Cardinals’ 13-1 victory. It was the 24th and last home run of Gibson’s 17-year big-league career. Boxscore

_ Rick Wise: Capping a seven-run third inning, Wise powered a grand slam off Roric Harrison on Aug. 21, 1973, at Atlanta. It was the second grand slam of Wise’s career (he hit one for the Phillies in 1971) and the 15th and final homer of his 18-year big-league career. The Braves held St. Louis scoreless the rest of the game and Atlanta won, 11-7. Boxscore

_ Joaquin Andujar: In the eighth inning on May 15, 1984, at St. Louis, Braves reliever Jeff Dedmon gave an intentional walk to Tom Nieto, loading the bases with two out. Andujar, a career .127 hitter in 13 big-league seasons, belted a grand slam, helping the Cardinals to a 9-1 victory. Boxscore

“I usually hit five or six home runs in batting practice every day,” Andujar told United Press International.

_ Bob Forsch: With a fifth-inning grand slam off a hanging curve by Mike Bielecki, Forsch earned his 12th win of the year in the Cardinals’ 5-4 victory over the Pirates on Aug. 10, 1986, at St. Louis. Forsch hit 12 homers in a 16-year major-league career. Boxscore

“I looked terrible on the breaking ball when he struck me out (in the third),” Forsch told the Associated Press, “so I figured he’d throw it again.”

Said Pirates manager Jim Leyland: “He (Bielecki) can’t hang a pitch like that; anybody could hit it out.”

_ Donovan Osborne: A switch-hitter batting left, Osborne slugged a fifth-inning grand slam off Andy Ashby in the Cardinals’ 8-3 victory over the Padres on Sept. 7, 1996, at St. Louis. It was the only homer hit by Osborne in nine big-league seasons. Boxscore

_ Kent Mercker: On the same night Mark McGwire hit two home runs, Mercker had the big blast, a fourth-inning grand slam off Jesus Sanchez, helping St. Louis to a 14-4 victory over the Marlins on Sept. 2, 1998, at Florida. For Mercker, a .113 career hitter, it was his lone homer in 18 major-league seasons and his first since high school. Boxscore

“Mark gave me some batting tips,” Mercker told the Palm Beach Post.

Said McGwire to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch: “I loved his trot.”

_ Chris Carpenter: The first big-league homer of Carpenter’s career was a second-inning grand slam off former St. Louis teammate Kip Wells in the Cardinals’ 13-0 victory on Oct. 1, 2009, at Cincinnati. Boxscore

_ Brad Penny: A third-inning grand slam by Penny off former St. Louis pitcher Joel Pineiro helped the Cardinals beat the Angels, 9-5, on May 21, 2010, at St. Louis, but Penny turned out to have an injury near his right shoulder, was unable to continue pitching and never played another game for the Cardinals. Boxscore

“I left a hanging slider to Penny,” Pineiro told the Associated Press. “I knew he was coming out swinging.”

_ Jake Westbrook: An 11-year big-league veteran, Westbrook’s first homer was a grand slam off Randy Wolf in the Cardinals’ 8-3 victory on Aug. 31, 2011, at Milwaukee. Boxscore

“It’s pretty special,” Westbrook told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “Just to go back and say you hit a grand slam in the big leagues is a lot of fun.”

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Given 3 runs, Joaquin Andujar was money in bank

Posted in Games, Pitchers on August 31, 2011| Leave a Comment »

In 1985, the Cardinals led the National League in runs scored, with 747, an average of 4.6 per game. When Joaquin Andujar pitched, the run production usually was higher _ and the right-hander knew what to do when given that kind of support.

Andujar won 18 starts in a row in which the Cardinals scored three or more runs in 1985, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

The Cardinals scored at least five runs in Andujar’s first 13 wins in 1985 and in 16 of his first 19. Of Andujar’s six losses in that stretch, the Cardinals never scored more than two runs and were outscored overall, 22-3.

Of Andujar’s 19 wins from April 14 through Aug. 13, the Cardinals only once failed to score three runs _ a 2-1 St. Louis victory against the Padres on July 26 at San Diego. Andujar held the Padres to a run in 11 innings. He got the win when Ozzie Smith drove in Jack Clark from third with a single in the 12th. Ken Dayley shut down the Padres in the bottom half of the inning for the save. Boxscore

During his streak, Andujar won six times by a margin of one run. His most fortunate break came June 14 in a game against the Cubs at Chicago. Andujar allowed four runs and seven hits, walked four and threw two wild pitches before being lifted when his shoulder tightened with one in the sixth and St. Louis leading, 6-4.

Relievers Bill Campbell and Jeff Lahti combined to give up six runs, but the Cardinals held on for an 11-10 victory. Bob Forsch, who entered with two out in the ninth and a runner on second, got Keith Moreland to fly out to right fielder Andy Van Slyke, who made a sliding catch near the bullpen area in foul territory. That earned Forsch the second save of his career and got Andujar his 12th win of the year. Boxscore

“I had to slide between two relief pitchers to get it,” Van Slyke told United Press International of his game-ending catch.

“I was so close to the wall,” Van Slyke told the Chicago Tribune, “that I could have written graffiti on it.”

On Aug. 18, facing the Expos at St. Louis, Andujar lost for the first time that season when the Cardinals scored at least three runs. With the score 4-4, Andujar was lifted in the 10th with one out and runners on second and third. Ken Dayley relieved and Terry Francona greeted him with a two-run single off the glove of third baseman Terry Pendleton. The runs were charged to Andujar. St. Louis scored in the bottom half of the inning and had the bases loaded with two out before Jeff Reardon struck out Van Slyke. Boxscore

Andujar finished the regular season with a 21-12 record, 3.40 ERA and 10 complete games in 38 starts. He was the first Cardinals pitcher since Bob Gibson in 1969-70 to win 20 in consecutive seasons.

After his implosion in the 1985 World Series (0-1, 9.00 ERA, Game 7 ejection), Andujar was traded to the Athletics, pitched three more big-league seasons and went a combined 17-17 for Oakland and Houston.

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Allen Watson: .400 hitter for Cardinals

Posted in Games, Pitchers on August 29, 2011| Leave a Comment »

(Updated May 22, 2018)

Allen Watson may be best remembered as a hitter rather than a pitcher for the Cardinals. In 1995, he set a batting standard for big-league pitchers.

Watson, a left-hander for the Cardinals from 1993-95, is the last big-league pitcher to hit .400 or better for a season with 20 or more at-bats, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Watson hit .417 (15-for-36) for the 1995 Cardinals.

In 2011, Reds left-hander Dontrelle Willis came close to becoming the first pitcher to hit .400 or better in 20 or more at-bats since Watson. Willis hit .387 (12-for-31).

Before Watson, the last pitcher to achieve the feat was Steve Blass, who hit .417 (10-for-24) for the 1973 Pirates.

Watson, who played one season of high school baseball, attended New York Institute of Technology. As a designated hitter in 1991, he ranked fifth in the nation among college hitters. The Cardinals selected him in the first round of the June amateur draft that year as a pitcher.

Watson advanced swiftly through the Cardinals’ minor-league system and established his ability to hit professional pitching. He hit .346 (9-for-26) for Class AA Arkansas in 1992 and .364 (8-for-22) for Class AAA Louisville in 1993 before being promoted to the Cardinals in July that year.

A left-handed batter, Watson hit .231 (6-for-26) for the 1993 Cardinals and .158 (6-for-38) for the 1994 Cardinals.

In 1995, Watson had four doubles and five RBI along with that .417 batting average.

On July 20, 1995, Watson evened his record at 3-3 by earning the win in the Cardinals’ 8-6 victory over the Mets. He also went 1-for-1 with a walk and a RBI, boosting his batting average to .500 and his slugging percentage to .714. Boxscore

Two days later, St. Louis Post-Dispatch columnist Bernie Miklasz wrote, “Perhaps the Cardinals should consider moving pitcher Allen Watson to first base.”

While there’s no indication the Cardinals considered such a move, the idea had merit. Watson was an erratic pitcher for St. Louis. He was 7-9 with a 4.96 ERA in 1995.

Although he won his first six decisions with St. Louis, Watson’s three-year record with the Cardinals was 19-21 with a 5.07 ERA when he was traded, along with pitchers Rich DeLucia and Doug Creek, to the Giants in December 1995 for shortstop Royce Clayton.

In an eight-year big-league career, Watson hit .257 (45-for-175) with 13 doubles and 19 RBI.

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